President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned the 13-kilometre metro line first phase of the Lagos Blue Rail Line (Marina-Mile 2) on Tuesday.

The Blue Line is expected to be 27 kilometre long, connecting Okokomaiko to Marina.

Buhari, who was on a two-day visit to Lagos, had commissioned the rice mill and Lekki Deep Sea Port on the first day of the visit on Monday.

The president was accompanied to the event at Marina Train Station, in the Outer Marina area of the state, by the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Minister of information, Lai Muhammed; the Chinese ambassador to Nigeria, Cui Jianchun and many other dignitaries.

The elevated train network was proposed in 1983 during the Second Republic administration of Governor Lateef Jakande but the construction was only flagged off 20 years later in 2003.

The construction was undertaken by the China Civil Engineering Construction Company, a subsidiary of China Railway Construction Corporation.

According to the state government, the train in its first phase will transport 250,000 passengers daily and when completed, the entire 27km will transport about 500,000 passengers daily.

The first phase (Marina -Mile 2) has five stations -The Marina Iconic station, National Theatre, Iganmu, Alaba and Orile stations.

Once it becomes operational, riders will be able to use the state government’s cowry card to access the train.

At the event, Sanwo-Olu signed a document to kickstart the second phase of the Blue rail project (Mile 2 Okokomaiko).

The president, alongside the dignitaries and journalists, took a tour on the train, moving from the Marina station to the National Theatre and back.

Spokesperson of the Lagos Metropolitan Transport Agency (LAMATA), Kolawole Ojelabi, said the train is still under trial and would kickstart in late March or first week of April.

He said that the fare has not been decided. When asked the cost of the project, he directed our reporter to the state ministry of finance.

The train is expected to ease traffic in the often gridlocked metropolis.

PT